Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 7,287 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,287 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $21,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 127,154 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $22,761,000 after purchasing an additional 8,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $208.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,717,022.80. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $628,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,134,230. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,310 shares of company stock valued at $688,650. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BDX opened at $214.74 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $140.11 and a 12 month high of $216.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $189.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $59.17 billion, a PE ratio of 51.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 5.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.45%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies. BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.